


Growing Up

by KyeAbove, Ohaymikoto



Series: The Reinforcement Of Agony AU [4]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: Angst, Friendship/Love, Gen, Loss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-22
Updated: 2019-03-22
Packaged: 2019-11-27 11:47:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18194198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KyeAbove/pseuds/KyeAbove, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ohaymikoto/pseuds/Ohaymikoto
Summary: February 7th, 1904. Cade Vale, New York. Agony:ConsumingWhat does it truly mean to grow up?





	Growing Up

**Author's Note:**

> The beginning of the end of a lovers' friendship in this beautifully tragic series.

~February 7th, 1904~

* * *

 

Stewart stared up into the ceiling of his room. The one sided discussion he'd had with his father still rang clear in his mind. It had been more along the lines of an order rather than a conversation. He had held his tongue and nodded obediently like a good son. He had to be a good son.   
  
It was time to grow up. That's what his father had proclaimed loud and clear.  
  
Growing up. The mere implications around the phrase made Stewart's stomach churn uneasily. What did it truly mean to grow up? Was there a correct way to do so? Was there a wrong way? He was so confused.  
  
His musings were interrupted by the very familiar sounds of small pebbles hitting his window. His mind immediately knew that he should get out of bed and climb out the window as usual, but he stayed put this time. The sounds continued and he tried to block them out.   
  
If he ignored them long enough then they would leave. Both the sounds and the people making them. He was sure of it.  
  
But they remained ever persistent.  
  
Stewart could feel the temptation to jump out his window growing but he had to refrain from doing so. He hoped the sounds would end soon and they did! For a brief moment Stewart felt sad relief but that was short lived as a scraping sound was heard near his window. The brown haired teen finally gave up his attempts of ignoring them and crawled out of his bed.  
  
Silently he walked towards his window and the weird scraping noise continued. He grabbed onto his curtains and finally pulled them aside.  
  
To be greeted by the startled face of Bo through the window.  
  
Stewart had to clamp his mouth shut in order to not yell out in startled fright. The two teens stared at each other for a while neither making a motion to do anything until Bo looked down and mouthed something he couldn't hear.  
  
Finally he snapped out of his idle state and carefully unlocked the window which earned a bright smile from Bo.  
  
"Hey Stew, Lilly and I got a little worried when you didn't show up so I borrowed the ladder from the gardening shed."  
  
By borrowed Stewart figured his best friend had picked the lock and snatched the ladder he was balancing on. Stewart peeked out slightly and saw Lilly holding the ladder steadily. She smiled brightly up at him and he returned a nervous one. They always took the ladder when Stewart was too injured to get out of his bed.  
  
"You two...should head home, it's late and cold."  
  
Bo blinked in surprise a couple of times, not fully understanding the sudden rejection by his friend. Stewart flashed him a nervous smile too then went to grab his window to close it but the blond teen firmly stopped him.  
  
"Did something happen? Are you hurt? Are you in trouble?" The usual questions, Stewart would've affirmed yes to all of them but that would be counterproductive to what he was attempting.  
  
"Bo-Anders, you and Michaels should not come back here ever again."  
  
Bo couldn't believe what was coming out of his friend. The use of his and Lilly's surnames. It was like he was trying to create distance between them...a distance like that of strangers.  
  
"What's going on? Stew, please explain to me." Bo pleaded and from where Lilly was at the bottom of the ladder she began to wear a worried face despite hearing the barest of what the two boys were talking about.  
  
"It's...it's for the best if we part ways now rather than later." Stewart's voice quivered as he repeated what his father had pretty much yelled into his face. Though his father used less kind words and more demeaning names when referring to his two dear friends.  
  
"That's not an explanation." Bo pressed on. He had a sneaking suspicion that Stewart's father had a hand in why his friend was suddenly trying to push both him and Lilly away.  
  
"Well I'm-I'm a adult now, and thus I need to focus on my future which does not include nightly escapades with you two. I have come to the realization that I need to grow up and cast away childish things."  
  
Bo shook his head with an aggravated sigh. That sounded like total rubbish! Stewart was freshly turning 16 this day. He was not an adult yet.  
  
"Did your father stuff that trash into your mouth?"  
  
Stewart visibly flinched at the mention of his father. Bo knew he'd hit the nail on the head, and as usual it was the fault of Stewart's father. It was always his fault.  
  
"...he gave me a few orders today. Told me I had to grow up and things had to change."

Bo growled a little, then offered a softer smile and a hand for his friend to take.  
  
"Why don't you tell me and Lilly about it by the tree?"  
  
Stewart hesitated. He stared at the offered hand and then back towards his bedroom door. His parents seemed to still be asleep...so he turned back and took Bo's hand softly which earned a big smile.  
  
Bo climbed down the ladder a bit then helped Stewart follow out. It was a silent climb all the way down, until they joined Lilly at the bottom. Carefully the three maneuvered the ladder away from the window and away from the house. Then they were gone in a lovers' like run.  
  
They moved in silence to their tree. Their safe haven away from all the hurt. They then all collapsed in a cuddled pile under their carved names. Lilly on Stewart's right, and Bo on his left.  
  
"So what's happening?" Lilly asked softly. They deeply enjoyed the warmth they all shared in this bleak moment.  
  
"My father he...he is dictating my future for me." Stewart began solemnly. Bo flashed a glare on his face while Lilly burrowed even closer to her ailing friend. They both knew their friend's life was very controlled but to such a extent? Both Bo and Lilly couldn't imagine what it must be like to have everything decided for them like that. "He said I will be a preacher just like him and I'll soon have to learn the ways of how to properly go about directing the church." Stewart added on, Bo snorted roughly at that. Having no faith in a God, he couldn't even picture his friend preaching about all the silly stuff in the Bible. Bo even doubted if Stewart himself had any faith in God at this point.

"Yes, and you'll sing songs with Jimmy Chris or whatever and be bestest friends..." Bo said, hoping to get another smile out of his friend, but Stewart simply continued on with his explanation.  
  
"Then he...he spoke of marriage. That...one would be arranged for me in the nearest future."  
  
Lilly frowned deeply at this. She knew arranged marriages were common enough in upper class society, but he was only 16. She thought it was too early for him to even have to think about getting married and then to someone picked by his father nonetheless? Surely whoever he picked would be a bad match for Stewart.   
  
"And finally he...he said I was prohibited from seeing you two again starting tomorrow." That made Stewart choke on tears that were building up in his throat. He hadn't allowed himself to cry until this very moment. He knew that if he lost Bo and Lilly...he would be all alone.

Both his friends pushed closer to him  
  
"He has no damn right to decide any of that. It's your life!" Bo argued angrily. He hated his friend's father with a burning passion of a thousand suns. It's like that man treated Stewart like a puppet on strings he could beat and bruise as much as he liked then pull in any directions he deemed fit. Stewart wasn't even a person in his eyes.   
  
Just an object, a thing.  
  
"So that's why you tried pushing us away?"Lilly inquired as she started to weave the threads together in her brilliant head.  
  
"Yes...I thought that if I was the one to do it then it wouldn't hurt so badly." But it would've, regardless of who'd done it.  
  
"Well, There has to be something we could do! I mean, you don't want any of what he is pushing onto you, right?!" Bo was trying to frantically think of a solution to this looming problem in the distance called the future. He didn't want to lose his friend in such a way. Not to his father. Not like that. 

"I...Bo, what I want doesn't matter much at this point. I will return to my house as usual and tomorrow there will surely be a firm lock on my window. I will be pulled to the church and forced to recite prayer until my throat is dead, I'll then be pulled back to the house and hear more about my prospective future wife handpicked by my parents. I have no voice here."  
  
Both Lilly and Bo stared at Stewart aghast then spotted his defeated smile. He'd already given up.

"You see...I-I'm stuck. I can't do anything for myself or choose anything for myself. Hah! I'm like puppet, hilarious right? You two can dream and...and can actually move somewhere in your lives but I...I..."  
The frail dam finally broke under everything and Stewart broke out into full blown sobs. Bo and Lilly quickly wrapped their arms around him and he puts his own arms around them. It's pathetic, they felt, that they can only do this and not more.

Stewart cried for a good while that night. His two friends tried to comfort him but it was hopeless. What a birthday gift, Bo thought bitterly as he helped Stewart back up the ladder.

He watched his friend climb back into his bedroom but he saw Stewart leaning back out again. He wore a sad smile and waved numbly, if this turned out to be the last time he saw them then at least he would like to see them smile one last time.

They both try their best to smile for him, forced and faked. The window was closed and the curtains were drawn once more.

Lilly edged closer to Bo and grabs his hand for comfort. Ehat a mess the night had turned into. Their original plans had been scraped and replaced by the hollow feelings of loss. They kept holding hands as they silently walked back together.

Both of their heads were filled with stormy thoughts of the future. Was growing up something that could be forced like this?


End file.
